Ventilated portable structure

ABSTRACT

A portable room enclosure which incorporates within its walls acoustically lined ventilation pathways. By utilizing wall panels having self-contained ventilation pathways exposed to soundabsorbent material sandwiched within the panels ventilation of the room enclosure is achieved while avoiding the transmission of outside noise to the enclosed environment.

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ye ttorneyMorgan, Finnegan, Durham & Pine y lined ventilation having self-contained ventilation nd-absorbent material sandwiched on of the room enclosure is achieved mission of outside noise to the enpanels Primary Examiner-William J. W

ABSTRACT: A portable room enclosure which within its walls acoustical] utilizing wall pathways exposed to sou within the panels ventilati while avoiding the trans closed environment.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/l940 Newport....

Bronx, N.Y.

7 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

[54] VENTILATED PORTABLE STRUCTURE [51] Int.

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o l I O0 900 I ooo ouoooo 0000 000000 +73! 00000 oococoo l lllllllTlllllllIlllllll] INVENTORS SEYMOUR WASSERMAN FIG' 5 V BY ARTHUR OPPENHEIM ATTORNEYS VENTILATED PORTABLE STRUCTURE BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to portable room enclosures, and in particular, to portable room enclosures which have a ventilation system capable of damping any noise which may filter in through the ventilation system. The invention is an improvement upon US. Pat. No. 3,302,547 issued on Feb. 7, 1967 to Seymour Wasserman for a General Purpose Portable Room with Ventilating Means.

There are many instances in which it is desirable to have a portable room enclosure capable of providing a ventilated environment free from surrounding noise wherein the size of the enclosure is variable and its fabrication is inexpensive and not complex.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide a portable room enclosure which is an improved room enclosure over the prior-patented room enclosure in that the present room enclosure incorporates within the structural'design of its wall panels acoustically insulated ventilation ducts.

Another object of this invention is to provide a room enclosure design which is an improved design over the prior design in that the present design utilizes simplified wall joining members.

Another object of this invention is to provide a room enclosure which is an improved room enclosure over the prior room enclosure in that the present room enclosure is capable of creating a ventilated room enclosure having a variable floor plan.

The above objectives are accomplished by utilizing interchangeable wall panels wherein a number of the wall panels utilize a portion of the wall panel structure as the means through which the enclosure is to receive ventilation. By structurally diw'ding the hollow wall panel into cavities, one of which is free of sound-absorbent material, by perforating a portion of the dividing structure between the cavities, and by coupling the cavity which is free of absorbent material to both the interior and exterior of the enclosure, an acoustically damped ventilating system is created.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects are achieved in accordance with this invention is set forth more particularly in the following specification which describes only one of a number of illustrative embodiments with the scope of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Having summarized the invention, a more detailed description follows with reference being made to the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification of which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the portable enclosure as viewed from the front.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the portable enclosure as viewed from the top of the structure.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the roof, fan and baffle of the enclosure taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2 showing the interior of the enclosure.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the floor of the enclosure taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the side of the enclosure taken along line 66 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view through a wall of the enclosure at a point where a ventilating pathway exists.

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view through a wall of the enclosure taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7 at an intake port of the ventilating system.

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view through a wall of the enclosure along line 9-9 of FIG. 7 at an outlet port of the ventilating system.

FIG. 10 is a broken vertical sectional view through a wall of the enclosure along line 10-10 of FIG. 2 at a point where a door appears within the structure.

FIG. 11 is a broken vertical sectional view through a wall of the enclosure along line llll of FIG. 2 at a point where a window appears within the structure.

FIG. 12 is a wiring diagram of the electrical circuitry of the enclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In FIG. 1, three different types of wall panels are arranged to form the sides of the portable enclosures. These panel types (2, 8 and 7) are the basic building blocks utilized in the design of the enclosure. Each of the panels are interchangeable with each other and designed to perform specific functions in accordance with the overall design of the enclosure. By the use of center support members 30 and comer support members 31, the individual wall panels are rigidly joined together in any desired combination to form a specific enclosure of any desired shape.

Wall panel 7 is designed to accommodate door 6. Wall panel 7 is fabricated from a couple of sheets of stock metal sheeting cut to the desired panel size and separated by and welded to channel members which appear about the perimeter of the panel. An opening is made within the panel to house door 6. Saddle 38 (FIG. 10) and appropriate sheet metal members are utilized to create a doorjambrwithin the wall panel. Door 6 can be of any commercial make, preferably, having a window panel.

Wall panel 2 is also basically a pair of parallel metal sheets welded to a frame of supporting channel members. A window opening exists about which channel members are welded thus creating a window jamb with sill (FIG. 11). The hollow area below the window of wall panel 2 is filled with acoustical absorbent material 13. The interior metal sheet below the window opening contains an array of perforations 20 thus enabling acoustical energy within the enclosure to contact the acoustical absorbent material.- Should additional acoustical or thermal performance he desired, an additional window with its associated structural alterations can be added to wall panel 2.

Wall panel 8 (FIG. 1) is similar to wall panel 2 except that wall panel 8 contains a ventilating pathway 21 (FIG. 6). FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of panel 8 showing the ventilating pathway 21 and the manner of construction of panel member 8. The exterior metal sheet 23 of the wall panel is welded to channel support members 24, 25 and 47, all of which extend the full length of panel member 8. Interior-perforated wall sheet 49 is flanged and welded beneath the window opening of the wall panel to channel support members 47 and 25.

Facing plate 22 is welded to channel members 24 and 25 (FIG. 6). Facing plate 22 runs the full length of the wall panel and in conjunction with channel members 24 and 25 and a portion of exterior metal sheet 23, define ventilating pathway 21. An opening appears within facing plate 22 thus coupling ventilating pathway 21 to the interior of the enclosure. A screen 27 is detachably afiixed over the opening.

Channel member 24 has perforations 20 appearing over its entire length to acoustically expose ventilating pathway 21 to acoustical absorbent material 13 (FIGS. 6, 8 and 9) located throughout the cavity defined by channel members 24 and 50, exterior metal sheet 23 and facing plate 22. This cavity, like ventilating pathway 21, runs the full height of the panel. Thus, acoustical energy existing within ventilating pathway 21 is exposed to acoustical absorbent material and absorbed. Should additional dampening be desired, channel member 25 may also be perforated so as to additionally expose ventilating pathway 21 to the acoustical absorbent material 13 contained within the cavity defined by interior-perforated wall sheet 49 and exterior metal sheet 23 (FIG. 6).

Center support member 30 (FIGS. 1 and 6) comprises several structural members welded together so as to fashion a single support member having a cross section in the shape of the letter I." Center support member 30 provides an efficient means by which individual wall panel members may be joined together to form the walls of the enclosure. By fastening the wall panels to support member 30, a structurally stable coupling of wall panels is achieved. In the illustrated embodiment, four support members are utilized (FIG. 2); however, nothing should be interpreted to limit the inventive concept to an eight-panel, four'suppon-member structure.

Comer support member 31 (FIG. 8) is designed to provide at the corners of the enclosure a structurally stable coupling between wall panels over the entire length of their common coupling. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, corner member 31 acts as a double channel member wherein one of the flange members is coincident with and integral to the web member of a second channel member. The width of each web of corner member 31 corresponds to a dimension slightly greater than the width of the wall panels thus permitting a secure fitting between comer member 31 and the respective wall panels which are coupled perpendicular to each other. Should it be desired to create an enclosure whose cross section is not rectangular, then center support member 30 and corner member 31 would be appropriately altered so as to provide the proper angular relationship.

In FIGS. 2 and 3 the roof and ventilating fan of the enclosure are represented. Fan 9 rests atop the roof of the structure, although there is nothing to prevent the utilization of a fan suspended from within the enclosure. Fan 9 may be of any desired size and power rating depending upon the amount of ventilation desired and the size of the enclosure. Air is drawn out of the structure via opening 17 when fan 9 is turned on from a control switch within the structure. Although the drawings illustrate the utilization of a fan, it is certainly within the scope of this invention to replace the fan unit with a heating and/or air-conditioning unit.

Electrical power is supplied to the structure from an external source. The fan 9, lighting fixture 10 which is supported from the ceiling panels and electrical outlet 11 (FIG. 1) are all tied into an appropriate electrical circuit (FIG. 12) contained within the enclosure and supplied from a source of electricity external to the enclosure. Switchbox 41 (FIG. 1) contains two individual toggle switches 42 and 43 (FIG. 12) which are utilized to turn on or off fan 9 and lighting fixture 10 respectively.

Directly beneath fan 9 attached to the ceiling of the structure is baffle 12. Threaded rods with suitable support covers 44 (FIG. 3) and spacers 45 fasten baffle 12 to the ceiling. Baffie 12 is designed to absorb acoustical energy filtering into the structure from without via opening 17 in addition to absorbing acoustical energy generated from within the enclosure. Acoustical absorbent material 13 is sandwiched between the two panel surfaces of baffle 12. The panel surfaces are spaced apart by and joined to supporting channel members and contain an array of perforations. Thus, acoustical energy is able to penetrate to and be absorbed by the sandwiched acoustical absorbent material contained between the two panel surfaces.

In addition to acting as a dampening means, baffle 12 also acts to cause a more even withdrawal of air from the entire enclosure by dispersing the force of the exhaust fan over a wide area.

In the illustrated embodiment (FIG. 2), the roof 14 is made up of two roof panels 15 and 16. The utilization of two panels eases the handling of the components and the assembly of the enclosure. However, the utilization of any number of roof panels is certainly within the scope of this invention.

Roof panels 15 and 16 (FIG. 2) consist of two flat sheets joined to channel members and having sandwiched between them acoustical absorbent material. Within the interior sheets of panels 15 and 16, an array of perforations is placed thus enabling the ceiling surface of the enclosure to aid in the acoustical dampening process by exposing additional acoustical absorbent material to the enclosure interior.

The panels 15 and 16 are designed to have a common tightfitting surface. Panels 15 and 16 are fastened to the wall panels of the enclosure utilizing a fabricated angle 18 (FIG. 3) having an I." shape. Angle 18 has its smaller interior surface placed adjacent the outer surface of roof panels 15 and 16, while the larger interior surface is placed adjacent to the exterior of the wall panels of the enclosure (FIG. 3). Fasteners 19 are utilized to fasten angle 18 to the wall and roof panels at designated intervals along their common edge creating a rigid structure. Angle 18 (FIG. 2) is utilized around the entire perimeter of the enclosure and is detachably fastened to said roof panels 15 and 16 and to the wall panels of the enclosure.

FIG. 7, which is a partial sectional view along line 77 of FIG. 2, illustrates a wall panel as seen from within the enclosure in addition to illustrating a sectional view of a wall panel along a line which passes through a ventilating pathway within said wall panel. Wall panel 12 of FIG. 7 has window 1, below which exists panel perforations 20. As stated earlier, perforations 20 permit the acoustical energy present within the enclosure to penetrate into the hollowed area within the wall panel wherein is sandwiched acoustical absorbent material which absorbs acoustical energy thus dampening the noise level within the enclosure. This perforated area appears on every wall panel within the enclosure as shown in FIG. 7 except for the panel which contains the door and frame assembly.

Ventilating pathway 21 runs the full height of wall panel 8 and is defined by the sheet plates 22 and 23, by channel member 24, and channel member 25 (FIGS. 7, 8 and 9). Ventilating screens 26 and 27 are detachable affixed over the openings that couple ventilating pathway 21 to the exterior and interior respectively of the enclosure. A filter 28 is affixed to ventilating screen 26 thus providing a means for filtering the air drawn into the enclosure. Ventilating screen 26, as previously stated, is detachably mounted thus permitting the replacement or cleaning of filter 28.

As fan 9 draws air into the enclosure, air is drawn in through filter 28, down pathway 21 into the enclosure (note flow arrows of FIG. 7). Common wall member 24 (FIGS. 8 and 9) is perforated and permits any acoustical energy passing through pathway 21 to pass through said perforations and become absorbed within the adjacent acoustical absorbent material.

In FIG. 5, a partial sectional view depicts the manner of joining a wall panel to the floor. The floor of the enclosure corresponds to the shape of the roof, and in the illustrated embodiment, takes on the shape of a square. Floor surface 32 can either be a single sheet of material, or can consist of several interconnected plates. A corrugated structural arrangement comprising channellike members 33 provides a rigid support for deck plates 32. Channel member 34 provides the desired base upon which corrugated members 33 rest. Angle 35 is affixed on the inner surface of its longer flange to channel member 34, corrugated member 33 and the edge of floor plates 32. The inner surface of the shorter flange of angle 35 is affixed to floor plate 32.

As represented in FIG. 1, two slots 4 and 5 are placed through channel member 34 and angle 35 to enable movement of the fully assembled enclosure by forklift trucks or other comparable devices. Panel support channel 36 is affixed to the outer surface of the shorter flange of angle 35 and provides a channel along the entire perimeter of the floor into which are fitted the lower edges of wall panels 2, 8 and 7. Fasteners 19 are utilized to detachably affix the wall panels to the panel support channels.

As mentioned previously, nothing should be interpreted to limit the design of the enclosure to any particularly geometrical shape. The panels may be of any desired height, width and thickness and grouped in any desired combination. Accordingly, the roof and floor would be varied to accommodate the overall geometrical shape of such enclosures.

FIG. 10 is a broken cross-sectional view of the enclosure through the doorjamb. Door 6 has a drag seal 37 attached to the bottom of the door and designed to form a seal with saddle 38 when the door is closed. Insulating strip 39 is attached to the wall panel 7 (FIG. 1) which is designed to contain door 6. Insulating strip 39 runs across the width of door 6 and provides an insulating seal with the tip of door 6 and wall panel 7 when said door is closed.

FIG. 11 is a broken cross-sectional view through a wall panel at a window. Window 1 is made from any transparent material such as 54-inch safety glass. Sealer 40 is used to provide an airtight seal between window 1 and the outer portion of the wall panel in addition to providing structural support to said window.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it should be obvious that there are unlimited numbers of variations within the scope of this invention. The invention is more particularly defined in the appended claims.

What is clairned is:

l. A portable enclosure comprising:

a. a floor member and a roof member each in the shape of similar polygons wherein said roof member contains an opening;

b. air-circulating means affixed atop said roof at said open- 0. a baffle detachably affixed to the interior of said roof suspended a distance beneath the opening in said roof, said baffle comprising:

1. two sheets of perforated material;

2. support members affixed to said sheets of material so as to place said sheets of material in a spaced parallel relationship to each other;

3. acoustical absorbent material placed between said sheets of material;

. channel manes afl'lxed to said floor;

e. a plurality of variously sized wall panels affixed to said channel means at said floor and to said roof thus defining an enclosed area wherein:

l. at least one of said wall panels contains a first, a second and a third hollow area wherein a first common wall member appears between said first and second hollow areas and a second common wall member appears between said second and third hollow areas;

2. acoustical absorbent material is contained within said first and third hollow areas;

3. said second common wall member is perforated;

4. means are provided for coupling said second hollow area to the interior and exterior of said enclosure; and

f. an access means is contained within at least one of said wall panels for providing access to said enclosure.

2. A portable enclosure as described in claim 1 wherein said second hollow area contained within said wall panel extends between said floor and said roof.

3. A portable enclosure as described in claim 1 wherein said means for coupling said second hollow area to the interior and exterior of said enclosure comprises first and second port openings, said openings appearing at opposite ends in said second hollow area.

4. A portable enclosure as described in claim 1 wherein said roof member and floor member are in the shape of similar rectangles.

5. A portable enclosure as described in claim I wherein said first common wall member is perforated.

6. An improved construction panel for prefabricated portable structures, comprising:

a pair of spaced-apart plates defining a space therebetween;

means disposed in the space transversely to the plates and forming therein a channel suitable for carrying a fiow of air axially therethrough, said means further defining a plurality of sound attenuating cavities at plural interior sides of the airflow channel, whereby a concealed acoustically damped flow channel is fonned in the panel interior; and

sound-absorbent material filling the space exteriorally adjacent to the sound-attenuating cavities at said plural sides of the channel.

7. A construction panel as defined in claim 6, wherein:

each plate has an opening formed therethrough, said openings being mutually spaced in a direction parallel to the plane of said plates to form an airflow inlet and an airflow outlet communicating with the channel. 

1. A portable enclosure comprising: a. a floor member and a roof member each in the shape of similar polygons wherein said roof member contains an opening; b. air-circulating means affixed atop said roof at said opening; c. a baffle detachably affixed to the interior of said roof suspended a distance beneath the opening in said roof, said baffle comprising:
 1. two sheets of perforated material;
 2. support members affixed to said sheets of material so as to place said sheets of material in a spaced parallel relationship to each other;
 3. acoustical absorbent material placed between said sheets of material; d. channel manes affixed to said floor; e. a plurality of variously sized wall panels affixed to said channel means at said floor and to said roof thus defining an enclosed area wherein:
 1. at least one of said wall panels contains a first, a second and a third hollow area wherein a first common wall member appears between said first and second hollow areas and a second common wall member appears between said second and third hollow areas;
 2. acoustical absorbent material is contained within said first and third hollow areas;
 3. said second common wall member is perforated;
 4. means are provided for coupling said second hollow area to the interior and exterior of said enclosure; and f. an access means is contained within at least one of said wall panels for providing access to said enclosure.
 2. support members affixed to said sheets of material so as to place said sheets of material in a spaced parallel relationship to each other;
 2. acoustical absorbent material is contained within said first and third hollow areas;
 2. A portable enclosure as described in claim 1 wherein said second hollow area contained within said wall panel extends between said floor and said roof.
 3. A portable enclosure as described in claim 1 wherein said means for coupling said second hollow area to the interior and exterior of said enclosure comprises first and second port openings, said openings appearing at opposite ends in Said second hollow area.
 3. said second common wall member is perforated;
 3. acoustical absorbent material placed between said sheets of material; d. channel manes affixed to said floor; e. a plurality of variously sized wall panels affixed to said channel means at said floor and to said roof thus defining an enclosed area wherein:
 4. means are provided for coupling said second hollow area to the interior and exterior of said enclosure; and f. an access means is contained within at least one of said wall panels for providing access to said enclosure.
 4. A portable enclosure as described in claim 1 wherein said roof member and floor member are in the shape of similar rectangles.
 5. A portable enclosure as described in claim 1 wherein said first common wall member is perforated.
 6. An improved construction panel for prefabricated portable structures, comprising: a pair of spaced-apart plates defining a space therebetween; means disposed in the space transversely to the plates and forming therein a channel suitable for carrying a flow of air axially therethrough, said means further defining a plurality of sound attenuating cavities at plural interior sides of the airflow channel, whereby a concealed acoustically damped flow channel is formed in the panel interior; and sound-absorbent material filling the space exteriorally adjacent to the sound-attenuating cavities at said plural sides of the channel.
 7. A construction panel as defined in claim 6, wherein: each plate has an opening formed therethrough, said openings being mutually spaced in a direction parallel to the plane of said plates to form an airflow inlet and an airflow outlet communicating with the channel. 